Man dies and seven taken to hospital amid fears of 'contaminated' sleeping pills
29 June 2024, 17:47
One man has died and seven others were taken to hospital after taking the sleeping medication zopiclone that police fear was "potentially contaminated".
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Cleveland Police said the man was believed to have taken pills from a possibly compromised batch of the drug, which could "cause significant illness or lead to an overdose".
It said the seven other people were treated at North Tees General Hospital in Stockton-on-Tees, on Friday after they were also understood to have taken the pills.
Six have since been discharged from the County Durham hospital.
The force appealed for anyone with information about the batch of medication or "concerns about drugs in the community" to get in touch.
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It issued a warning in a statement saying: "Officers are warning drug users of a potentially contaminated batch which could cause significant illness or lead to an overdose."
The NHS says the drug is a "type of sleeping pill that can be taken for short-term treatment of severe insomnia”, and is “only available on prescription".
Zopiclone takes around an hour to work and helps users fall asleep faster and stop waking in the night.
The drug is usually taken as a tablet but doctors can order it in liquid form.
It works by triggering a calming chemical in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), according to the NHS website.
